False Start, Trip to Jackson

So I guess that last post was a little premature. ;)  Weekly posts, that's the goal.  But then we went away for 5 days.  Hmmm.

On Friday, I drove 5 1/2 hours up to Jackson (WY) with the kids.  Freddy had NOT previously known that we had a built-in DVD player in the minivan, but now the secret is out. I actually debated whether to use our portable DVD player so he'd never know about the one in the van, but then I realized that I'd have to face the music eventually.  In case he asks you, the DVD player only works on car trips longer than 2 hours.

The point of our trip was to meet Billy at the end of a very long bike ride/race on Saturday.  Called LoToJa (short for "Logan (UT) to Jackson"), it starts at about 5:30 on Saturday morning and ends sometime before dark that day.  Bill's goal was to make it in under 10 hours, which he did!  But he had a rough day - one of those days when you're just "off".  But he made it, and that was the end of the summer of biking.  Sort of. At least until next spring.  I'm guessing this isn't the last LoToJa race we'll be involved in.

Good friends Dan and Annie Cantrell (who live in Big Sky MT) met us in Jackson for the weekend, and it was so good to see them and their friend Megan, who lives in Jackson.

The kids were great.  Freddy would have ridden the tram up the mountain every day if we let him, but instead we hiked to Hidden Falls at Jenny Lake and to Phelps Lake near Death Canyon.  Freddy turns out to be a really fun hiker, and Liza was great in the backpack.  We extended our trip by a day because we were having so much fun!  The weather was INCREDIBLE, too.

We're Back!

After trekking across the country and back - 4 flights, lots of driving, and lots of family in between - we're back and wishing we had more time to spend with everyone back in VA. My step-sister Charlotte and her husband James' wedding celebration was so fun (they got married in Nov. but it was small)! Family dinner Friday night at the Tides Inn was a nice chance for Billy and I to catch up with everyone sans Freddy (thanks to mom for babysitting!), and F got to spend some fun time with Grammy and his Posey cousins. Saturday was berry-picking (see photo), swimming with the Poseys and daddy while mom and sis Mary got manicures, playing with dogs (7? 8?), and then the wedding party itself down on Carter's Creek. Freddy got to get his groove on to the music, see lots of boats (plus a random crane and school bus at a marina next door), check out a birds' nest, and eat poached salmon. He entertained and was entertained, stayed up until almost 10 and was adorable pretty much the entire time! I've never seen him so sweaty...but it made his hair curl up and was pretty cute.

Through all that, Bill and I didn't take a single photo, so I'm relying on pics sent from my mom and brother-in-law Erik. You can almost see the humidity in the photo Mom took, below. Oh well. We'll be back at it, picture-taking, soon enough!

We're Back!

Freddy and I have been on 3 planes, 2 metro trains, 1 airport train, 1 rental car, 3 other cars, and 1 shuttle bus in the last 9 days, and although we are GLAD to be home, we had a great week seeing family, playing with new friends, and (for me) doing a little nonprofit work.

Saturday - Wednesday morning:
While I spent 2 1/2 days lobbying for more funding for arts, arts education, and other related issues on Capitol Hill, Freddy got some great Grammy (my mom) and Nana (my grandma) time in. They went to playgrounds and parks, watched squirrels, rode the metro, looked at cherry blossoms, and did their best not to mark up Nana's furniture. Thanks to Mom for driving up to DC to babysit while I was in meetings, and to Gram for feeding us and letting us disrupt her schedule. Oh, and for not getting mad when Freddy dinged her dining room table with a toy train. We were sad to leave DC and cried a little when mom drove away. :(

Wednesday afternoon-Sunday:
After a 4-hour drive from DC to Fair Haven, NJ, where Bill's sister Steph and her husband Rip live (Freddy did not sleep but was very good!), we arrived to much excitement. Freddy and his just-turned-2-year-old cousin Caitlin took about 60 seconds to warm up to each other and were off and running. They were adorable, and so is the newest addition to their family, Lloyd Harrison Bush III (no nickname yet, so he might just be Lloyd). Unbelievably, tiny Steph gave birth to a 9 lb, 4 oz baby boy...which is why she is back in her regular clothes already, as he was obviously taking up her entire belly space. Lloyd is about 2 1/2 weeks old and is a pretty darn good baby for being so new. Caitlin definitely loves her little brother (maybe a little too much sometimes), except for the occasional "put baby down" comment. We went to parks, took walks, and generally hung out and ate well. It was great! Caitlin got pretty sick our last 2 days there, unfortunately, so we probably should have tried to catch an earlier flight just to give her some space (and her crib back), but everybody hung in there. We also got to see Freddy's Uncle Doug and Aunt Christine, Bill's Aunt Helen, and Pop and Jan (some more than once)! I'm sure Steph and Rip are glad to have their house back to themselves. ;)

Freddy and I drove up to the airport yesterday for a direct flight back from Newark. He was so-so on the plane...I guess all I can say is that it could have been worse. In the meanwhile, he slept until almost 8 this morning and I slept like a rock. Now back to work! I'll try to get our photos off my camera in the next few days and get back into the blog routine.

Here's a photo Mom took at my grandma's condo...it almost doesn't look like Freddy but I think it's adorable!